Four Weddings and a Funeral
by erm31323
Summary: Five unrelated one-shots written for the Mini Golf game at the Hogwarts Fair on HPFC. 1 - Lavender's anxiety before her wedding. 2 - Rita Skeeter observes Ron and Hermione's nuptials from afar. 3 - Severus Snape looks in the Mirror of Erised. 4 - The Bloody Baron muses on past regrets. 5. James Sirius once again finds himself in trouble.
1. Just Enough Light

**A/N - Written for the Mini Golf game at the Hogwarts Fair on HPFC. Each chapter had its own prompt. Title is unashamedly stolen from the movie of the same name.**

**1 - Write a fic in first person POV in 30 minutes. Writing time - 28 minutes. **

**Just Enough Light**

I fiddled with the scoop neckline of my dress, wishing again that I hadn't let Parvati talk me into this particular one. It did cover some of the scars, but the largest one that wrapped up the side of my neck to just below my ear was completely visible. My hand itched toward my wand, wanting to cast the glamour that I normally wore, but I resisted.

Seamus had gone along with everything I had asked for the wedding. His only request was that I not cover my scars. As hard as it was and as much as it pained me, I had agreed. I was already forcing the poor man to get married at night, outside, with as few as people present as possible for Merlin's sake. He had convinced me to let him take care of everything related to the ceremony. I was a little nervous, but I did trust him.

Parvati came back into the room and smiled at me. I tried to smile back, but I knew it looked forced.

"Hey, it's your wedding day, not a funeral," she joked. "Come on Lav, it's going to be fine, trust me." I nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Not really," I admitted. Parvati cocked her head in question. I sat down on the chaise in my childhood bedroom. We were having the wedding in the clearing in the woods behind my parents' house. Parvati sat down beside me and put an arm around my shoulders.

"It's not Seamus is it?" she asked.

"Of course not," I replied. "It's just," I trailed off and sighed.

"People are going to be looking at you," she finished. I put my head in my hands.

"Gods, I'm pathetic," I said.

"You're not," she assured me. "But they're your friends, Lav."

"I know," I said.

"Come on then." She tried to pull me to my feet, but I wouldn't budge. Sighing, she told me to wait and left the room.

A few minutes later there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

"Can't," Seamus said from behind the closed door. "Bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, isn't it?"

"Seamus!" I exclaimed.

"What's the matter love?" he asked. "Don't you want to marry me?" He was joking, but there was an undercurrent of something that I couldn't name in his voice. I rose from the bed and walked to the door, placing my palm against it.

"You know that I do," I replied. I rested my forehead against the door as well.

"Well, it might be a wee bit difficult to do that if you're in here behind a closed door and I'm outside," Seamus reminded me. I chuckled softly.

"I just," I paused and bit my lip. "I'm scared."

"They're your friends love," he said quietly immediately understanding.

"I know, but they've never seen," I said. "They don't know. Except Parvati and Bill and Fleur," Bill and Fleur Weasley had become good friends to both of us, having been through the same thing I had with Fenrir. They were the ones that had convinced me to let Seamus see me the first time my bandages came off. Otherwise we might not even be here today.

"Listen to me Lav," Seamus said and I could imagine him standing in the same position I was in on the other side of the door. "We all have scars, they just don't always show. You just have a testament to how brave you are, how hard you fought. Not just in the battle, but to come back from it afterwards." I sniffed and squeezed my eyes shut tight so as not to let the tears fall. Parvati would kill me if I ruined my make-up.

"Now will you come out and marry me?" he asked. I nodded then laughed when I realized he couldn't see me.

"Yes," I said and I opened the door. He looked surprised.

"What about the bad luck?" he asked.

"Sod luck," I said and then I stood on tiptoe and kissed him. He grinned at me and took my hand and led me downstairs and out into the back garden.

I gasped when I saw it. The path to the clearing was lined with dozens of jars, Hermione's bluebell flames inside every single one. The trees above were decorated with fairy lights. I could see all of our friends gathered around the small aisle in the clearing and each of them held a lit candle. There was still enough darkness that we would be in shadow, but also just enough light.

Seamus looked at me nervously and I smiled. He grinned back.

"It's beautiful," I whispered. "I love you Seamus Finnegan."

"I love you Lavender Brown." And then he kissed me again.


	2. So Close and Yet So Far

**A/N - Write a fic that is at least 500 words, with Rita Skeeter as the main character.**

**So Close and Yet So Far**

Rita Skeeter stood across the road and behind a tree, watching as guests made their way to the front doors of the church. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the Chosen One shaking hands with Neville Longbottom. The two laughed about something before Longbottom walked inside. There were more redheads present than she could count and more Ministry employees than most people could name. Even the Minister had shown up.

Rita scowled again. She should be over there covering the wedding of the century. Well, the second one at any rate. The Boy-Who-Lived-Twice had already married the youngest Weasley the year before. But no, Little Miss Perfect had refused to allow the press within fifty yards of the event. She chose some childhood friend to take the photographs and a select few would be released to the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. The Quibbler, however, was getting an exclusive, she was sure. She had seen Xeno Lovegood arrive already.

The only reason Rita was even this close was that she had slipped through the initial set of wards in her Animagus form. She wasn't so naïve as to think that Granger wouldn't still report her if Rita wrote any kind of story that even hinted that she had been anywhere near the church. In fact, Rita wouldn't put it past the woman to have purposely set the wards against the Animagus transformation so that Rita could get close enough, but be just a bit too far away to see anything remotely reportable.

She supposed the fact that the ceremony was taking place in a Muggle church was somewhat interesting. She had seen quite a few people arriving that she didn't recognize at all. Given the fact that Rita made it her business to know who was who in the Wizarding world, it was a relatively safe bet that these were Muggle relatives of Granger's.

She wondered if they had sent out some kind of notice about appropriate dress because so far, no one seemed to be wearing robes, not even Xeno. Not to mention how they would keep everyone from using magic. Some type of charm perhaps? Maybe even something invented by Little Miss Perfect herself. Rita huffed in frustration.

Ah, there was the Headmistress. Professors Flitwick and Sprout were with her and was that the Hogwarts matron? Well, she supposed given the Trio's penchant for danger, Poppy Pomfrey had probably patched them up quite a few times over the years. Hagrid was lumbering along behind them. Rita's lip curled. She couldn't believe that huge oaf had wrangled an invitation.

Potter had disappeared inside and one of the redheads was standing at the door now. He greeted the professors and then walked slowly down the stairs and leaned back against the railing. He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. Pulling out her omnioculars, Rita saw him staring off into the distance, wistful look on his face. Ah, it was the twin, George, who had lost his other half in the Battle. What she wouldn't give for an exclusive with him. Such a sad, tragic story, her readers would eat it up. She shook her head.

She watched him for a few minutes before a woman came out of the church and approached George. Well, this was interesting. Rita raised her omnioculars again. The woman wrapped an arm around George's waist and rested her head on his shoulder. She looked familiar, they had probably attended school together, but Rita could not put a name to her face. They stood silently for a few moments, looking rather cozy before the woman took his hand and led him back inside. Just before they reached the door of the church, George stopped her and leaned down and kissed her. Well, well, well, perhaps Rita would need to make a visit to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes sometime soon.

The last of the guests seemed to have arrived. Rita watched for a bit longer, but realized that nothing else was likely to happen. The reception had been kept very secret and Rita had no doubt that the Know-it-All would have put plans in place to keep anyone from being followed from the church. Growling under her breath, she transformed once again and flew off towards home. One of these days she would figure out a way to get one over on Hermione Granger.


	3. Peace

**A/N - Write about what someone sees in the Mirror of Erised without using the word or genre 'family'.**

**Peace**

Severus strode through the halls of the castle. So far he had not come across any students breaking curfew. Not that he expected to; most of the students were smart enough to realize they were far safer in their dorms after dark this year. Of course there were exceptions and he had dealt with them, walking the fine line between maintaining his cover and keeping the students from permanent harm.

It was exhausting, but still he couldn't really sleep. A few hours here and there were all he managed anymore. He didn't feel comfortable in the Headmaster's quarters, even after redecorating them. They still felt too much like Albus' no matter what he did or even Minerva's who should have rightfully sat in his place. And so he spent most of his nights roaming the castle.

He did still maintain the rooms he had used as a Professor and he often ended up there after his wanderings, managing two or three hours of sleep before he had to be up again and back to the Headmaster's chambers before anyone was the wiser. He was well aware that the last few years' events had aged him. He looked nearly twenty years older than he really was and glamours could only do so much. And he was so damn tired.

Tonight, he found himself in the third floor corridor without having conscious thought of going there. He walked past the room that had housed Fluffy, his lip curling in disdain at the ridiculous name Hagrid had given his 'pet'. Continuing on down the corridor, Severus saw a stout wooden door at the end that he didn't recognize. It wasn't overly shocking, he hadn't been in this corridor since the entire Philosopher's Stone incident that he could recall and Albus was constantly tinkering with things inside the castle's walls. Still it wouldn't do for there to be something behind the door that the students shouldn't know about.

He strode forward and reached for the handle to open the door, but there didn't appear to be one. Casting an unlocking spell also proved unsuccessful. Brow furrowing, Severus began to cast more intricate unlocking charms until one finally worked. Well, if he replaced that there wasn't a student in the castle that could open it and probably very few of the professors as well.

Stepping inside, he saw at once the reason for the complex warding of the door. The Mirror of Erised stood against the wall across the room. Severus took a few steps forward and then stopped. He knew what he would see. Lily and everything he could have had with her if things had been different. It's what he had seen after the debacle with Potter and Quirrell in Potter's first year. Severus hadn't been surprised.

He turned to go and made it to the door before he stopped again. He pulled in a breath and braced his hands on either side of the frame. He squeezed his eyes shut as if to banish her face from his memory, which of course, did not work. With a sigh of resignation, he turned and walked back toward the mirror once more.

He kept his head bowed, his hair falling forward to curtain his face, until he stood in front of it. He raised his head slowly, keeping his eyes closed. Then he took a breath and opened them. And saw…nothing.

Well, not nothing exactly, there was movement and whispery images that didn't quite solidify enough for him to discern what they were. The motion reminded him of gentle waves in the sea, tranquilly lapping at the shore so very quietly. It was mesmerizing and Severus found himself enraptured by the calmness of it all. He stared deeper into the mirror an image began to appear in front him.

It was Lily of course, her beauty unmarked by darkness, healthy, whole and smiling widely at him. She held out a hand and he reached for her but she faded from view only to be replaced by another. Albus, smiling genially, that damnable twinkle in his eye, his arm unmarked by blackened flesh, offering Severus a lemon drop. Severus snorted and Albus too faded away. And then Minerva, her gaze no longer full of disgust and disappointment, but the cheeky sarcasm that ruled their relationship. She winked at him and he rolled his eyes before she disappeared. The subtle movement of the water in the mirror returned for a time and Severus found that he could not turn away.

And then another figure, the Dark Lord, his body bleeding and broken, his red eyes unblinking, staring into nothingness. Severus knew he was dead, not dead only to return again, but truly dead. And then Severus himself, levitating the body of his most hated _Master_, the one that had taken everything from him, onto a large funeral pyre. And as the the Dark Lord burned, the Severus in the mirror laughed, staring at his forearm as his Dark Mark faded into nothingness.

That final image faded from view and was replaced once again by the gentle lapping of the waves, the tranquil darkness. And Severus knew, knew what he had known since he was nineteen years old. He was so damned tired of everything, he wanted peace. He just wanted peace.


	4. Eternal Regret

**A/N - Write a fic that features a resident Hogwarts ghost.**

**Eternal Regret**

The Bloody Baron hovered atop the Astronomy Tower, looking out over the grounds. It was one of the things he missed the most being dead, feeling the sun warm his face. There were other things too, the main one the reason he wore his chains. He tried to talk to her often, but on the rare occasions he could actually find her, she rejected him every time. He could not blame her and didn't, but he knew he would never stop trying.

There was movement near the castle doors and he looked down to see Professor Dumbledore leading a small group of people toward the lake. Most of the professors were with him and they stopped near the shore, two of the group stepping forward and standing in front of Dumbledore.

One was Professor McGonagall, the other a man that the Baron did not recognize. However, he recalled the gossip he had overheard Nicholas telling the Fat Friar that the Professor was to be married to a long-time friend that she had once worked with. As he glanced at their attire, he supposed this must be the wedding.

Watching, the Baron let his mind drift and it settled, as it nearly always did, on Helena. He wished again that he had held his temper all those hundred years ago. Perhaps he would have been able to convince her to return and her gratitude at making sure she got to have a last word with her mother would have been enough to sway her mind towards him. He did not really believe that, but now he would never know.

He looked back down at the small party gathered near the lake and saw the happy smiles on Professor McGonagall's face and that of her groom. The Baron had seen a few weddings on the grounds in his time and the participants did not always look so content. He hoped that boded well for the Professor. He had nothing but respect for her, even though she was a Gryffindor.

He sighed. These types of events always made him melancholy, well more melancholy that he normally was and he moved back a bit from the edge of the Tower. He turned to the right and saw Helena floating in the shadows of the adjacent parapet. She was looking down at the scene rather wistfully, in the Baron's opinion. Had he still had a heart, it would have clenched for all the pain he had caused her in her young life, of all that he had robbed her of.

He stared at her, hungrily drinking in her features and wishing that she would allow him to speak with her. She finally turned and noticed him watching her. She looked at him for a few moments and the Baron could not read what was in her eyes, but for a moment he thought she might want to say something. He made to move toward her when she broke his gaze and floated away through the wall and back into the castle.

The Baron looked back down at the lake and the now kissing couple below him. Gliding silently back into the castle, he wished the man that had managed to capture Professor McGonagall's heart more luck than he himself had had. Eternity was quite a long time for regrets.


	5. It Wasn't Me

**A/N - Write a fic about someone being falsely accused of something.**

**It Wasn't Me**

"James Sirius Potter!"

James cringed. His mum only used his middle name when she was really angry. Frantically going back over his day, he came up empty. He hadn't done anything he wasn't supposed to as far as he knew. He looked down at himself, but he wasn't _that_ dirty. There was a smudge on the front of his shirt and he had taken his tie off a while ago, but he'd given it to his dad, so it wasn't his fault if it was lost. He walked cautiously towards her, quite glad that they were in a crowd of people. At least she couldn't yell _too_ loudly.

"Yes, Mum," he said innocently as he reached her.

"Do not give me that innocent look," she hissed.

"What did I do?" James asked in confusion.

"You know very well what you did young man," Ginny said. "And after you promised me you would behave today. This is Neville and Hannah's _wedding_, James!"

"Mum, I didn't do anything, I swear," James protested. His mum sighed and closed her eyes. James gulped. That was never a good sign.

"James, why do we have to go through this every single time?" she asked in exasperation. "Why can't you just admit when you do something wrong?"

"But Mum, I didn't," James began again, but Ginny held up her hand to cut him off.

"Just stop," she said. "Before you get yourself in any deeper. Go and sit on that chair over there and Do. Not. Move. I'm going to find your father." James sighed and kicked at a stone as he walked towards the chair. He slumped down into it and put his chin in his hand. He didn't even know what it was he was supposed to have done.

A few minutes later, his mum and dad both walked up to him, his mum still furious, his dad just looking irritated. Another bad sign. His dad tried, he really did, but he rarely got angry with James, not really. The fact that he was annoyed now didn't bode well.

"James, what was it that I asked you this morning?" his dad said.

"To behave," James said dully.

"And?" Harry prodded.

"Not play any pranks," James added.

"And have you done as I asked?" his dad continued.

"Yes!" James exclaimed. "I haven't done anything! I don't even know what happened!" His parents glanced at each other, then looked back at him.

"You didn't put Dungbombs under the table where Neville and Hannah were going to sit?" Harry asked.

"And you didn't replace the truffles with Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffees?" Ginny added.

"And you didn't put Creepy Crawlies in the punch bowl?" Harry finished.

"No!" James insisted, although he was secretly impressed with whoever had. Ginny crossed her arms in front of her.

"James, I know for a fact you had all of those things in your room," she said. "Uncle George told me what he sent you for your birthday last week."

"Mum, I didn't do it," James said again.

"If you didn't, then who did?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't know!" James said throwing his hands in the air. "But it wasn't me. I got dirt on my shirt and I took off my tie, I pulled Dominique's hair and me and Louis snuck Granddad's glass of firewhiskey and took a sip, but that's all." Harry looked at Ginny again.

"He's confessing to things," Harry said. Ginny nodded, still looking at James suspiciously. "He never confesses to things."

"I know," Ginny agreed. James looked back and forth between his parents hopefully.

"We need to talk about this," Harry said, looking at a loss for what to do. "James, stay here." James sighed and slumped back down in his chair. His parents moved a few feet away and began talking in low voices, glancing at him from time to time. His mother was gesturing wildly, but his dad was shaking his head. James heard a small giggle. Turning around he saw Lily standing behind him.

"What's so funny?" he snapped. His sister was always laughing at him when he got in trouble.

"Mummy and Daddy," Lily said with a grin.

"What about them?" James asked.

"They think you did all the pranks," she said brightly. James looked at her in confusion for a few moments and then his eyes widened.

"It was you?!" he said incredulously. Lily giggled again and nodded.

"I snuck in your room," she said proudly. James glanced back at his parents, but they weren't paying any attention to him. They probably wouldn't believe him anyway. Lily was only five and she got away with everything.

"You little sneak!" he said, angrily, but secretly sort of proud of his little sister. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome the anger and with one last glance at his parents, he jumped up from his seat. Lily shrieked and took off at a run, James hot on her heels. Ginny and Harry glanced up at their daughter's scream

"James Sirius Potter!"


End file.
